CWG 2022: Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu hits India's first gold

Birmingham: Indian star weight lifter Mirabai Chanu lifts 201kg combined weight in the Commonwealth woman's 49kg weightlifting event, winning a gold for India.

Winning her third CWG medal, Chanu made a CWG record lift on Saturday as well as added another medal to India's medal tally, making it three. Earlier, Gururaja Poojary had won bronze in men's 61kg weightlifting, while Sanket Sargar, who opened India's medal account, won silver in men's 55kg weightlifting.

Chanu, the former World Champion and Olympic silver medalist, broke the CWG record in clean and jerk, along with the total lift. Her combined lift of 201kg was 88kg+113kg. The numbers are far higher than her personal best.

She equalled her national record lift of 88kg in the snatch section. Though she attempted a 90kg lift, she failed. Sporting her famous 'lucky' earrings shaped like the Olympic rings, Chanu lifted more than twice her body weight (109kg, 113kg) in the clean and jerk, in which she holds the world record (119kg), PTI writes.

When Mauritian weightlifter Marie Hanitra Roilya Ranaivosoa 172kg (76kg+96kg) won the silver, Hannah Kaminski of Canada 171 kg (74kg+97kg) won bronze.

Earlier, Poojary made a combined lift of 269kg, with 118kg in snatch and 151kg in clean and jerk, to finish third in the event. The medal is his second straight CWG medal after he won the men's 56kg silver medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games staged in Australia.

Sanket Mahadev Sargar had opened India's medal account by clinching a silver in the men's 55kg category.

Twenty-one-year-old Sanket was in pursuit of gold but sustained two failed clean and jerk attempts to finish second. He lifted a total of 248kg (113kg+135kg).

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